Monday, January 22, 2007

If you believe as I do, then you believe that a simple floor speech is all it takes to demonstrate Democratic hypocrisy. Such is the case with the Democrats’ fake student loan legislation. Here’s what Bob Novak said about that legislation:

Democrats last Wednesday were extolling their student loan bill for opening college to modest-income Americans when Rep. Tom Price, a second-term Republican from Georgia, took the House floor. “If only this bill did what they say,” Price declared. His admonition constituted more than the usual hyperbole of congressional debate.

The bill, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan House vote, was headlined as reducing the interest on federally subsidized student loans from the present 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. Actually, it gradually reaches the 3.4 percent level on July 1, 2011. A student taking out a loan July 1 this year would pay 6.12 percent after graduation. Only 29 percent of all students getting loans would be eligible for this gradual cut. Other student loan programs will be cut to help pay for the $7 billion cost over five years. And, contrary to Democratic implications, the bill does nothing to slow skyrocketing college tuition.

In other words, Tom Price simply walked to the microphone and told the world that Democrats were scamming the very people that they’re supposedly helping. Tom Price simply strode to the microphone and told anyone who would listen that Democrats had reduced the interest rates. They just reduced them gradually. They also made certain that only 29 percent of the college students were eligible for these gradually reduced interest rates.

Another Pelosi scam that got exposed was the minimum wage bill that Minnesota’s Tim Walz sponsored. Here’s what World Net Daily wrote about it:

But while the proposed change in law adds American territories to the minimum wage requirements for the first time, American Samoa remains exempt. That’s where Del Monte’s brand name StarKist tuna has a huge plant, employing thousands of workers who would have been affected by inclusion in the minimum wage plan.

Ms. Pelosi started backtracking as soon as this information became public. Here’s how she’s tried spinning it:

“And now her people are saying that, you know, she has never been influenced by StarKist at all but other people are saying, hey, this is a little bit of hypocrisy because how can this particular group of people benefit by not having to pay the new minimum wage which is almost $2 more an hour,” she said.——————–Pelosi later told reporters she would try to work to see if “all territories” could be included in compliance requirements for the new law.

Because Republicans exposed this hypocrisy, the bill that passed won’t be sent to the Senate for their approval. Instead, it’s being returned to the House so this exemption is eliminated.

Frankly, Ms. Pelosi’s first days as Speaker (and Speaker-in-Waiting) have been filled with mistake after mistake. She endorsed John Murtha for Majority Leader only to see Steny Hoyer picked. She prevented Jane Harman from chairing the Intelligence Committee, first toying with the idea of impeached Judge Alcee Hastings for the job before picking Silvestre Reyes for the job. Rep. Reyes later made a fool of himself by not identifying al Qa’ida as being made up of Sunni Muslims and not knowing that Hezbollah is a Shi’ite Muslim organization.

“The Hill reported last March that two former Conyers’ aides alleged that repeatedly violated House ethics rules by requiring aides to work on local and state campaigns, and babysit and chauffeur his children. Deanna Maher, a former deputy chief of staff in the Detroit office, and Sydney Rooks, a former legal counsel in his district office, shared numerous letters, memos, e-mails, handwritten notes and expense reports with The Hill.”

In other words, Nancy Pelosi’s decisions have consistently been disastrous to the Democratic Party on multiple levels.

Don’t expect Pelosi to retain the House in 2008 if she continues displaying this level of incompetence and this level of cronyism.